Monster Hunter: Genesis
by Qinalin
Summary: Tsu is an aspiring hunter, but after disaster strikes on his first hunt, he may be forced to decide what it is he will hunt. Will he chose to fight for his mentor or seek personal glory? I don't own Monster Hunter or its affiliates.
1. Prologue 1

Prologue: First Hunt

(part one)

How did this happen? Everything had been fine when he started this hunt. The weather had been kind, and he was well trained. The tracks had been easy to follow. He hadn't even run afoul of the giaprey that always accompanied their alpha. What went wrong?

Tsu had just come of age in Frostmoor, the frontier town he called home. That meant it was time for him to take his first hunter's contract on his own. He had been hunting with his father several times, of course, so he knew what to do.

According to tradition he had had to wait for an appropriate challenge to cement his status among the other hunters in the region. A giadrome or bulldrome was always a great way to show you were serious about your first hunt, so when the contract for the giadrome had come up at the message board, he took it without looking back. Now, he looked back longingly, wishing for his safe home and his warm bed. Would he ever see them again?

Would he ever see his family again? Life hadn't exactly been easy on the frontier for a new family with a newborn child, but it had been familiar and comfortable. Tsu's father had taken care of him and had raised him to be a hunter just like himself. Now, at 15, Tsu wondered if it was all over.

A sudden roar over the mountaintops started him out of his reverie. The thing was getting closer, and Tsu began running once more. He was sure he couldn't get away, but he needed to run anyway. He needed to try.


	2. Prologue 2

Prologue: First Hunt

(part two)

He had been following the creature for days. His well trained eyes easily found the signs of its passing. A few scales in the snow. A slight static in the air. The distant muffled _thump, thump, thump,_ of great wings beating. Sure signs... it was here. A greater tigrex.

One of the largest of its kind, this subspecies of tigrex was especially rare. Marked with the typical patterns that identified the species, only its immense size and its great saber fangs marked this one apart. The fangs alone would be worth a small fortune, but he was more interested in the challenge such a beast would give.

Finally, he spotted the wyvern. It was only a mile or two from his position. It was a beautiful creature... but something was wrong. The circles it flew. The tilt of its wings and tail. He knew. As surely as he now hunted the tigrex, it was on a hunt of its own. He had to hurry. After catching its prey, the wyvern would retreat to the high reaches of the mountain, places nothing else could follow, to eat and rest in peace and safety.

His great strides eating up the ground between himself and the beast, he sprinted toward his quarry. The sight that greeted him soon after was the last thing he could have expected.


	3. Prologue 3

Prologue: First Hunt

(part three)

 _What can I do?_ Tsu thought to himself for the eighth time. He was in open tundra, no caves or rocks in sight. There wasn't even a usable snow bank to break the monster's line of sight. He had some tools but nothing sharp enough the pierce the wyvern's hide. There weren't even any other creatures around that could potentially cause some distraction for the beast. For the eighth time he asked himself, and for the eighth time, no answer was forthcoming... so he kept running.

It wasn't long after, though, that he found the first hopefully thing he'd seen... the remnants of a small mountain camp half buried in snow. It wouldn't provide any cover, but there just might be something useful hiding in the wreckage.

The roar was so much closer now, and it was followed this time by a trembling _thud_ behind him. He could hear the creature's loud heavy breath behind him, but he didn't look back. His only chance was to find something, anything, useful. His hand closed on something round and smooth, and he smiled wryly to himself. _I can't believe I'm considering this, but what choice do I have?_ He thought.

Turning to face the wyvern, he prepared himself to go down fighting. The beast seemed to be waiting for something. Some sign that its prey was vulnerable. Tsu lunged with the sword he was carrying, not expecting to hurt the thing. It reared back and snapped forward, barely missing Tsu's torso, but Tsu was ready. He grabbed tightly onto one of its neck spikes, dropping the sword in the process, though he held tightly to the round object in his other hand. As the wyvern pulled back, Tsu rose with it, ending up on top of its head. He held even tighter as it began thrashing, trying to dislodge him from his perch, but his grip wouldn't last forever.

Hanging down over the side of its head, he smacked the object he was holding against his thigh, priming the bomb, and jammed it as far as he could into the wyvern's mouth. Then his grip failed. His head banging hard off the ice when he hit the ground, his last thought was that his father would never know what had happened to him... then he sank into blackness...


	4. Prologue 4

Prologue: First Hunt

(part four)

Only yards from where he stood, the creature fought with a young man. This must have been who it was hunting. The man was dressed in thick winter clothing and gear, and he wielded a short iron sword. His shield lay discarded, and he clasped something tightly in his other hand.

The hunter watched, impressed as the man dodged a snap of the beast's jaws and grasped one of the spikes on its neck. He saw as the man thrust the bomb into the wyvern's mouth. He also saw the man fall, hitting his head hard on the ice and not getting up.

Wasting no time, the hunter rushed in to put himself between the beast and its prey. He drew his weapons, a great lance in one hand and a huge sword in the other. He jabbed the creature in the knee with his lance causing it to rear up, roaring in pain. Then, before it could strike back, the bomb exploded tearing the wyvern's jaw and sending it, writhing, to the ground. As the death throws died down, the hunter surveyed the rest of the scene before him.

The young man was alive, though he wouldn't be for long if he wasn't cared for. The hunter collected the man's gear and laid him out on a cloak. _I guess I'm camping here. It's as good a place as any._ He set up a popo skin tent and got a fire going, then proceeded to bind the man's wound and wrap him in blankets inside the tent. After he was satisfied, he sat down by the fire and waited.

 **This is the last part of the prologue. Now that my main characters are together, I do plan to release longer chapters without such frequent breaks in the story. Thanks for your interest, and I hope you enjoy the coming chapters of the story.**


	5. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Chance Meetings

 _A loud roar. A shudder beneath his feet. A snapping maw. A sharp pain in his head and a ringing in his ears. Then, blackness._

Tsu sat bolt upright, waking, finally, from a nightmare that he had seen over and over in the darkness of his mind. He hadn't expected to be waking at all.

It took him several moment to gather his flying thoughts and bring his breathing under control before he could survey his surroundings. He was in a large tent made of thick furred popo skins. It was pleasantly warm inside, even without the blankets that were laid on top of him. A slit in the roof of the tent let in enough daylight for Tsu to know it was about midmorning.

He seemed to be alone in the tent, and he had no idea if he was still in the mountains... and his head hurt enough that he didn't like the idea of going out and checking. After a short while though, he couldn't take not knowing anymore.

He arose slowly, letting the blankets fall to the ground. While his coat had been removed, he was still fully clothed. He noticed his equipment sitting in one corner of the tent, and a quick examination told him nothing was missing. He put on his coat, careful not to snag anything on the bandage around his head, and, bracing himself for whatever might be outside, he opened the tent flap.

Momentarily blinded by the bright light reflecting off the snow, Tsu stumbled out into the chilly morning air. He was still in the mountains. Looking around revealed that he hadn't moved far at all since... he realized he didn't know how long it had been since the encounter with the wyvern. It's body lay only some hundred yards from the campsite he found himself in. There was a fire a little way off, and a man sat next to it with his back to the tent and Tsu.

The man was huge. Even sitting bent over the fire he could have looked a short man in the eyes. He seemed almost as wide as a small popo, and Tsu thought he could probably lift and throw one with little effort. He wore a patchwork cloak that looked to be made of wyvern or dragon skins which left only his head bare. A great, tangled mane of think white hair crowned that head and fell to a little below the man's shoulders.

His weapons were laid on the ground beside him, and they matched their wielder for size. One was a lance, some 9 feet long, covered in a sheath of fur. The other was a massive greatsword, similarly covered, that looked to be taller than Tsu. There was no shield as would have been typical with the lance.

Tsu walked towards the fire and the man, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves.

"It is good to see you are awake," the man said as Tsu approached, his voice like iron rasping on a wet stone. "Your head is still in one piece, but I did wonder if your spirit still had need of it. It gladdens me to see that it did."

"I... I don't know what to say," Tsu responded, then, looking at the beast in the distance, he asked, "Did you kill that thing?"

"No."

"Then, who did?"

"Come around to the fire, boy. I dislike speaking to someone before meeting them." Tsu obeyed. He came around to sit on the far side of the fire and looked the strange man in the face. His skin was sun darkened, and his face was scarred and grizzled. It showed the evidence of long years on the open road. "My name is Tsu, sir, and I thank you for saving my life," Tsu offered formally.

"Well met Tsu. The people here call me Byrd. I'm impressed with you, Tsu. It was quick thinking, putting the bomb in its mouth," responded the man, nodding toward the body of the wyvern.

"I'm afraid it was more accident than plan. I was only hunting a giadrome when that thing appeared." Ysu then told Byrd of his adventurous and disastrous hunt, of how he sought the giadrome, of how the wyvern had pursued him, and of how he had stumbled upon the campsite with the bomb. "It was meant as an effort to go down fighting. I didn't think I had a chance," he finished.

Byrd was shaking his head. "You're a damn lucky man. If I hadn't been hunting the beast, it would indeed have been your last stand."

"You were hunting that?" Tsu asked, incredulous. "Why would anyone take that thing on on purpose?"

"Because it is rare, and because it is a challenge," Byrd responded simply, "though my challenge seems to have been stolen from me this time," he said, chuckling after a moment to let Tsu know he was joking. "You'll want to carve the thing before scavengers start taking it apart. Salvage whatever is usable, though I expect the teeth are mostly destroyed."

Tsu looked on the man in wonder. Normally, he would have been perfectly within his right to harvest what he wanted and leave Tsu with nothing to show for his trouble. As the conversation continued, the man proved to be stranger and stranger, at least to Tsu's thinking.

"I think I'll have to keep an eye on you. I'd hate to see my hard work in saving you wasted... and of course, you'll want to pay me back for the help I'll give you. Well, if you're ready, go carve your prize, and we'll be off," Byrd said. "I wish to see the place and the people that would raise such a hard young man."


	6. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Homestead

The rest of the morning passed in relative silence. Tsu quickly got the impression that Byrd was not the most talkative man. Over the next few hours, he tried to start up conversations with the man, saying things like, "Where are you from? I've never heard your accent before." or, "What's the scariest beast you've every hunted?" Once or twice he got a one or two word reply, but most of the time, he received only a grunt.

In short order though, breakfast was finished, camp was taken down, and the wyvern was carved for useful components. Tsu set out for home, accompanied by a stranger and weighed down with the spoils of his kill: some large teeth, a few of the spikes from it's neck, and as big a pelt of its skin as he could carry. According to the laws of the hunt, as the hunter who had slain the beast, all of it was his to do with as he wished. Byrd took nothing... "It's not my kill," he said simply when Tsu asked him about it.

The journey home was overall uneventful. The wyvern's passing had scared most of the lesser creatures into their dens and hiding places, and they didn't seem keen on coming out yet. It took them a few days to cross back through the mountains, but soon, Tsu once again laid eyes on his home, Frostmoor... a home he had thought he wasn't going to see again before Byrd had showed up. As he looked upon the familiar little hamlet, he had a sudden swell of gratitude for Byrd's actions. Because of him, Tsu had made it home.

Frostmoor was a small and simple place. A cluster of half a dozen buildings made up the town center, and the rest of the town consisted of fifteen or so homes and a couple of farms. They didn't even have an inn. Frostmoor didn't get many visitors. It was a simple town with a simple purpose... to offer a home for the frontier hunters. Tsu loved the place.

"Let's go, boy. You've got people to see... and stories to tell I'd imagine," Byrd said, snapping Tsu out of his trance. "Where can I get a strong brew? I need a drink."

Tsu pointed out the small tavern, and Byrd left him standing on the outskirts of the town. Tsu took a deep breath to steady himself and headed straight for the Elder's house. After a hunt, a hunter was always supposed to report to the Elder. That way, the gods could be honored for a successful hunt... or supplicated if the hunt had gone badly. Tsu wasn't sure which would apply in his case.

The Elder of Frostmoor was an old woman who spoke in a very quiet voice. She had an aloof and mystical air about her that had always made Tsu feel uncomfortable. The one room in her house was full of the haze and scent of incense, and she sat on a cushion in the midst of it.

"You have returned laden with treasures, yet you think they are not rightfully yours. Why is this?" she asked. She hadn't even greeted him before going straight to the heart of it. Tsu hated that. He also hated that she always seemed to know before he spoke what was going on... and he hated that she probably knew he hated it.

"Greetings, Elder. The hunt was unsuccessful, but it was a success, also," he responded as she nodded. "I don't know how to describe it."

"Then don't. The gods are pleased. This is all that matters.

"They are also mysterious. They tell me nothing of the stranger you've brought with you," she said.

"He is a hunter... and he saved my life. I owe him much," Tsu responded solemnly.

"The gods often put those in our path who would help us on our journey. They also put in our path those who would tear us down to test us. Sometimes we cannot tell the difference."

"What do you mean? Do you think he means harm?"asked Tsu, alarmed.

"I know not. Only that he is not as he appears... Go, see your father. Dwell no more on this for now. The gods will make their intent known in their own time."


	7. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Family

Following the Elder's advice, Tsu headed straight for his house. Most of the town would be at the tavern to meet the visitor, but Tsu's father had always been a quiet and reserved man. He also did not drink much.

As expected, he was home sitting quietly in the house's one chair in front of a very small fireplace. He turned from the fire when Tsu entered, and Tsu contemplated his face for a while. It was grizzled, like that of most veteran hunters on the frontier, but there was a kindness and a softness in his eyes. Despite his efforts to hide it, Tsu could see both worry and relief in those eyes. His father would never admit it, but he had been worried about Tsu's first hunt.

"It's alright, Dad," Tsu said, chuckling, though there were tears in his eyes, "I'm safe. I made it back."

"I knew you would. I've taught you too well for anything less," his father replied. "It's good you're home. She'd be proud of you." Tsu's mother... she had died when Tsu was little. His father often thought of her. She had been a hunter, too... one of the best, or so his father told him. No one in town disagreed.

Things got quiet for a time as they always did when Tsu's mother was brought up. They sat in front of the fire, holding thoughts and memories close.

After a couple of hours, Tsu began to wonder what has happened to Byrd. _He must still be in the tavern_ , he thought. "Hey Dad, there's someone I want you to meet. We met up in the mountains. He's a hunter, too."

"Oh? A bit strange, that. Imagine meeting a stranger way out here... and away from the road, too. Let's go meet him then." His father smiled at him. All was well.


End file.
